"New York State is the worst in the nation in defending our children, with the weakest laws," said Mark Meyer Appel, founder of the child advocacy group Voice of Justice.

"Somebody who gets abused — age 16, 15, 14 — it takes a long time to come out and say, 'Hey, I was abused in a church or a yeshiva.' It takes a long time. There's guilt, embarrassment, denial."

Marci Hamilton, a professor at the Cardozo School of Law, echoed Appel's criticism of the existing state law.

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New York ranks among the worst states in the nation when it comes to creating a legal window for abuse survivors, landing in the frightful four with Alabama, Michigan and Mississippi, she said.

"It's really the hall of shame," said Hamilton. "At first, when we started talking about statute of limitations, most people didn't know what they were.

"As time went on, people started talking. Now the odds go up every year for passage."

The house of Cesar Gonzales-Mugaburu in Ridge, New York. (David Wexler/For New York Daily News)

Currently, the statute of limitation for both civil and criminal cases applies when an accuser turns 23 — five years after his or her 18th birthday.

There are no statutes limiting the time for prosecution on any cases of first-degree rape, first-degree aggravated sexual abuse and the rape of a child younger than 13.

In neighboring Connecticut, victims are given a 30-year window — up to age 48 — to file a claim against the perpetrator or the institution involved.

Gonzales-Mugaburu hosted 140 foster kids in his homes over the past two decades before his Suffolk County arrest March 18.

He's already avoided extra criminal charges because two victims were past the statute of limitations, Suffolk County prosecutors said.

Authorities were looking for more victims — and that number was likely to increase.

The bill was first introduced in 2006 by Assemblywoman Margaret Markey (D-Queens), who has reintroduced the proposed law another half-dozen times.

But each time, the proposal was dead on arrival in the Republican-controlled state Senate.

Criminal defense attorney Sam Braverman said the issue is trying to address both the rights of the defendant and the accuser.

The front page of the New York Daily News for March 19, 2016. (New York Daily News)

"It's a balancing act," said Braverman. "The idea is that it's unfair to ask somebody to come up with a defense for a crime ... years later if they had nothing to do with it. The ability to mount a defense disappears."

Former Manhattan prosecutor Jeremy Saland, now in private practice as a defense lawyer, agreed. Saland noted an extended statute of limitations could compromise the defense of a suspect due to deaths of witnesses, unavailable evidence and faded memories.

On the other hand, Saland said, the system shouldn't prevent victims from getting justice.

"To close the reportable window for cases involving a voiceless child, an abuser who is in a position of power, authority or trust, or another other unique reason why conduct is not reported, would be a horrendous injustice," he said.

Hamilton said the Catholic Conference and Agudath Yisroel of America have led the so-far successful fight against passage of the bill.

Dennis Poust, director of communications for the conference, said his group's opposition was not intended to spare the church from additional lawsuits and expensive settlements.

The proposed bill would create differing standards for suing private institutions, like the church, than public institutions like the city or the school system.

"If it's a good idea for the church, it's a good idea for the city and the public schools," said Poust.

Appel believes the church, along with private schools and other institutions, are more concerned with protecting their wallets than doing the right thing.

"If this bill were to pass, and we were to go back and revisit these cases, it would probably cost the Catholic Church $2 billion in New York — and they couldn't afford it," he said.

Mayor de Blasio, acknowledging he was unfamiliar with the nuances of the issue, offered tepid support for the change. "We have to do everything all the time to protect our children," the mayor said last week. "I'm not familiar enough with the statute of limitations. Broadly, I want to make sure that anyone who is a danger, we can get and we can get them away from our children."

WERE YOU A VICTIM OF SEX ABUSE BUT COULDN'T PRESS CHARGES OR SUE? TELL US YOUR STORY: Protectkids@nydailynews.com